Love Is a New Beginning
by Penmanboat
Summary: Feasts never end normally when there is magic involved.


"Merlin!" King Arthur called for his servant. In turn, Merlin finished filling a knight's goblet and walked over to him.

"Yes?"

"I need you to fetch some more bread from the kitchen." And with that, Merlin went to the kitchen. The cooks were there to make sure that they cooked enough for the feast. However, at that moment, there wasn't anything to do. They were gossiping instead.

"Did you hear about that one maid? The linen washer's apprentice," one said to the other. "Apparently, she was found in the forest the other night. No idea how she got there."

"How do you suppose that happened?"

"Well, there's a rumor going around that two druids solicited information out of her, and left her in the forest without her memory."

"How'd they manage that?"

"Some say she's a magic wielder as well. Say that she got trapped in one of their schemes. They didn't want to hurt her, but they did accidently."

After that, they began to talk about who fancied who, and Merlin grew bored. So, he grabbed the bread and brought it to the king.

The feast was in full swing. Merlin went around the large oak table asking to refill the guests drink. The knights would pick fun with him from time to time, asking him to refill their already full goblets and such.

"Merlin!" Gwaine called once. "You filled my glass too full. You'll need to empty it, and refill it."

Unbeknownst to him, two sorcerers (the very two that the cooks were speaking of, but Merlin did not know that) were in his midst. They had somehow infiltrated Arthur's court, and Arthur knew that their intentions were less than noble. He needed a way to smoke them out. He tried many ideas before the night of the feast, but none of them worked. They were much too clever to fall for such simple tricks.

Then, without the counsel of either Merlin or Gaius, Arthur came up with a plan. He was literally going to smoke them out.

Everything was going normally that night, until two canisters went off under the table. Immediately, the room began to fill with a white smoke. People jumped out of their seats, knights rushed to protect the king, and the door was barred.

"Have no fear!" Arthur cried out. "This smoke is harmless to the average person. It will only affect those with magic."

Merlin began to slink back to the far wall behind the king. He looked desperately for a way out of the room, but he would have to go through the smoke to reach the only exit, and two guards were blocking the barred door. Gaius was out of town that day in order to collect some herbs from a farmland. He was out of options.

"What is this your majesty?" a member of the court called out.

"Has he been bewitched?"

"Why did he not tell any of us about this?"

"Does the physician know that the king did this? Does he know the side-effects for us non-magical folk?"

"I know that two attendees at this feast are using magic for illegal and evil purposes," Arthur went on. "This will only affect those two men."

The general panic had subsided once they realized that they were untouched by the smoke. Of course, the other two men were still very worried.

Meanwhile, Merlin and the two others were getting as far away from the billowing cloud as they could. No one really noticed Merlin, him being a servant and all, but they did notice the two men were beginning to wobble on their feet.

"Arthur, what is this?" Merlin asked.

"It is something that I found on my own. A mix of herbs that will cause any magical person to die. Have no fear Merlin. It will not affect you."

The smoke had filled the room almost entirely now, the two men collapsed within seconds of each other. Arthur beamed with pride, the idea had been his own. He called on a few knights in order to bring the warlocks to the prison. There they would be watched to make sure that they were dead. In one swoop, Arthur had been the judge, jury, and executioner for those two men.

That thought passed through Merlin's head for a moment, but he focused more on holding his breath. If the smoke was diluted more, there was a chance of him not receiving the full-on effects. The door had been opened, but Merlin could not keep his breath for much longer. He could feel the smoke all around him, and he began to feel light headed. Then he breathed in.

"Merlin!" Arthur called. This cry of "Merlin!" was different from the rest that he had heard all night. This one was filled with fear and worry. A cry you give when your best friend fell in battle. Not one you give to a man serving you wine. He saw his manservant fell to the ground limp like a ragdoll, and ran to him. "Merlin, what's wrong?" Arthur wanted to joke, to say that Merlin had too much to drink that night, but something told him to leave the joking for another time.

"I'm sorry Arthur," Merlin said softly.

"Sorry for what?"

"For not telling you."

"For not telling me what? Merlin? Merlin!" There was the cry again, full of anguish and pain. A cry for a lost love.

Just then Gaius rushed into the room. Because of his magical powers, he held a damp cloth to his mouth and nose to keep from inhaling the smoke. He ran to the two boys.

"He has magic doesn't he?" Arthur asked. His voice was full of sorrow. He had just killed his best friend. Tears formed at the sides of his eyes. He looked at Gaius as if he was at a funeral. Gaius was the reaper; come to take Merlin away.

"He does sire. What was in the smoke? I may know a way to save the boy."

"A mix of demill and thouth. I read about it in an old druid book. I would have never done this if I had known. I would never have expected… I mean he's so clumsy all the time! How could he have been a warlock?"

"He has saved your life as well as Camelot many times. You just do not notice sire. But more importantly, I know of a way to save him. But we must act quickly. He hasn't got much time."

"Anything. I'll do anything."

"He needs an ending"

"A what?"

"A story-book ending. The druids are romantics after all. Death is the final ending. He needs a new beginning"

Arthur stared dumbfounded at the physician. "An ending and a beginning?"

"A fairytale ending, sire."

_A fairytale ending. How do fairy tales end? _Arthur thought. He vaguely remembered his father reading him a few just before bed, but that was back when he was still a small innocent boy. One memory popped into his head vividly.

"**This was your mother's favorite story, Arthur," Uther told his son. **

Gaius continued to speak to the king; to justify his words. But Arthur was not listening to him anymore.

_**The princess was laying on the bed of flowers with her eyes shut. She looked much too peaceful to be dead. Her pale skin and her bright lips clashed with the darkness that was death. Still, there she lay with no more than a few seconds left in this world. The prince wept for his lost love. He took her hand in his: they were already growing cold. **_

Merlin's breathing and heartbeat slowed. He realized that a lot of the "coincidences" were not that coincidental after all. All those times were he had miraculously won battles, or just survived battles, could be chocked up to his scorer manservant. In that moment, he realized that while the men in the stocks has used their magic for evil, Merlin had _only _used his magic for good.

_**The princess was his best friend. She was always there for him. Whether to go on an adventure, or to stay up late and just talk to. **_

He thought about Merlin's unwavering loyalty to him. How he had put with Arthur for all those years, and how he, the king, had come to enjoy and look forward to seeing him every day.

Merlin stopped breathing.

_**The princess stopped breathing. The prince had one thought. He bid his lover farewell. He leaned in and -**_

Arthur kissed Merlin.

_**The princess opened her blue eyes, and the prince embraced her. Nothing, not even death, could part the two.**_

Gaius looked at the pair and smiled. He thought, _True love's kiss. Arthur figured it out. _

Merlin would pull through, he always did. And when he woke up, his life would be just a little bit better.

Merlin's eyes fluttered open, and Arthur broke away from the kiss.

"Don't keep secrets like that from me, you idiot."

Merlin gives the king a small smile, "Alright, dollop head."


End file.
